


That "In Love With My Best Friend" Kind of Feeling

by vldrarepairs (miraculousstorytelling)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Flirting, Happy Ending, Kissing, M/M, Mutual Pining, Surprised by Feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-11
Updated: 2017-05-11
Packaged: 2018-10-30 18:38:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10882650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miraculousstorytelling/pseuds/vldrarepairs
Summary: When Lance asks Hunk to kiss him and make the girl who rejected him jealous, neither of them expect to actually feel something after it's over, much less have to deal with the aftermath.





	1. That "Oh Crap I'm In Love With My Best Friend" Kind of Feeling

"Oh, what's the matter, Lance?" Pidge croons, leaning in for a closer view of Lance's miserable expression. "Your alien girlfriend dump you?"

"Shut up," Lance grumbles into his arms.

"What happened?" Hunk asks from beside him, a warm hand already resting on Lance's back.

Lance sighs and turns to look up at the two of them with a pout. "I thought we hit it off, but now she's making out with that guy."

Pidge and Hunk glance over. Sure enough, the tall pink alien who had been so attentive to Lance just moments ago is now pressed up against an orange alien who'd been nursing a glittery drink across the bar.

"Ooh..." Hunk pats Lance's back. "Sorry, man."

"It's fine." Lance lays his head back down on the bar. "Just leave me here to wallow."

Pidge rolls her eyes and picks up her drink. "Okay, now this is just sad and boring."

Hunk ignores her, lowering his voice to a more soothing tone as he answers Lance instead. "Why don't we just head back to the ship? It's pretty quiet in here anyway."

Lance sits up, a burst of energy brightening his expression. "Or..." He looks back at the alien who'd rejected him, eyes narrowed. "I could find someone else and rub it in her face."

"And we're back to interesting," Pidge murmurs, sipping her drink.

"Well, you've hit on everyone at the bar, and she was the only one who was interested," Hunk reminds him with a small shrug. "Maybe it's time to call it a night?"

Lance turns to face Hunk. "Hunk. You're my best friend, right?"

"Of course," Hunk answers automatically.

"You'd do anything for me?"

"Yeah, man."

"Kiss me."

Pidge nearly chokes on her drink, and Hunk stares at Lance for a moment. "Wait, what?"

"Come on!” Lance lowers his voice. “I think she's coming up for air soon. If you kiss me, she'll think I found someone else."

Hunk frowns. "I don't think that's a good ide-"

"Please!"

Then, Lance is looking up at him with those wide blue eyes, using a charm Hunk has always been weak to when it comes to sharing sweets, helping with homework, and even sharing the occasional cleaning pod duty. Hunk can’t say no to that face.

Hunk sighs. "Okay, fine. I'll-"

"Great, cause she's about to look over." Lance hardly waits for Hunk to agree before grabbing the material of Hunk's vest and tugging him forward. Hunk barely has time to move, let alone react, before Lance's lips are on his.

The moment should be anticlimactic. Boring, even. Hunk should not feel his heart soar, and his lips shouldn't be tingling where they met Lance's. In the back of his mind, Hunk knows he shouldn't ease closer, just as he shouldn’t sip one hand behind Lance's head and return the kiss that shouldn’t even count as a real kiss. Even if it is pretty mind-blowing.

Hunk knows he shouldn't enjoy the way Lance relaxes into him or the way Lance's grip on his vest tightens. He shouldn't wrap an arm around Lance's waist and pull him closer, and he certainly shouldn't close his eyes and imagine that this kiss means anything at all. This is just for show, and any feelings coming to the surface should be ignored and shoved somewhere besides his racing heart. Hunk knows he shouldn't love the way Lance slides onto his lap, and he absolutely shouldn't hope that Lance moved closer because he was just as eager for more contact as Hunk is. It’s all an act to convince the girl across the bar that they’re truly interested in each other.

Hunk shouldn't savor the heat simmering between them any more than he should gasp when Lance's tongue traces a path across his lower lip. These are all part of the plan, even if they are small details an observer might miss. He shouldn't allow the soft moan that rumbles up from his chest, and he shouldn't brush his fingers over Lance's scalp and through his soft hair. He shouldn’t try to linger and give in to the desire for just another moment with Lance this close like some sort of dream come to life. He should turn back before he crosses a line he can’t uncross. More than anything, though, Hunk knows he shouldn't read into the soft whimper that escapes Lance’s throat when Hunk breaks away to catch his breath. It doesn’t mean anything.

But if that’s the case, Lance shouldn't be watching him with wide pupils and flushed cheeks when Hunk finally opens his eyes again. They shouldn't look so stunned to be staring at each other in the aftermath of an entirely unromantic kiss. Nothing whatsoever should have changed between them.

"Guys, she left the bar about fifteen ticks ago," Pidge points out. "But, don't let that stop you."

Neither of them look to confirm it. Instead, Hunk tries to steady his breathing as panic builds in his chest. As much as he tries to tell himself the kiss meant nothing, now that it’s over, Hunk can’t stop staring at Lance’s lips, remembering how soft they felt, and his fingers itch to bury themselves in Lance’s hair again. He wants nothing more than to take advantage of the way Lance’s mouth is slightly open and discover for himself exactly how that purple cocktail Lance just finished tastes on his tongue.

So, he makes the safest decision he can.

Hunk grips Lance's waist with trembling hands and sets him back on the stool Lance had left mid-kiss. "I'm gonna head back to the ship. Umm... I've got some work to do on my lion."

Lance hardly blinks when Hunk waves at Pidge and hurries out of the bar.

Pidge chuckles and takes another slow sip of her drink. "Wow..."

Lance flops forward onto the bar, head buried in his hands. "Quiznak..."


	2. That "So Glad I'm In Love With My Best Friend" Kind of Feeling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance deals with the aftermath of their kiss while Coran offers questionable advice to catch Hunk's interest.

Lance’s lips are buzzing with the lingering aftereffects of kissing Hunk, and his head is swimming with want. He know it’s too late now to chase after Hunk, but quiznak does he want to.

“So, are you just pretending that didn’t happen or…”

“I think I’m in love with Hunk,” Lance murmurs.

Pidge sighs and searches for the bartender. “I knew I should have gotten Shiro to come with us.”

Lance looks over at her. “What do I do?”

Pidge grimaces, clearly wishing anyone else could be dealing with this situation now that she’s left to comfort a sulking Lance alone. “I don’t know.”

“Well, what would you do?” he asks, desperation raising the pitch of his voice.

“Ask literally anyone else. Who usually helps you deal with your love life?” He looks down, and her expression falls when she realizes the answer. “Oh…”

“How long have I been in love with Hunk?” Lance groans and covers his face. “And why did I sit on his lap?”

Pidge reaches over to awkwardly pat his back. “Hey, it’s Hunk. You know he’s probably fine with it.”

Lance shoots her a glare. “I know he’ll be fine with it. I don’t want that.” He frowns. “I want him to actually like it. I want him to like me.”

“He might.” Pidge motions for a refill and makes a face when the new bartender asks her for ID. “You should talk to him.”

“No way. You saw how he ran out of here.”

“Yeah, and you watched him go,” she points out as she digs out the identification card she’d made specifically for their outing.

“Pidge…” Lance whines. “What do I do?”

“I don’t know,” she repeats, pouting when the bartender hands the card back to her and shakes his head. “Let’s head back to the castle. Maybe Shiro can help.”

“No, just leave me here to wallow.”

Pidge grumbles, “And we’re back here again…”

It takes a bit of coaxing to get Lance to his feet, and by then Pidge’s patience is gone. She drags him back to the castle despite his near-constant complaints.

“Welcome back! Did you enjoy your time off?” Coran asks, all pep and smiles as they enter the main room.

“Not exactly.” Pidge releases Lance and heads off to her workroom, muttering to Coran as she passes, “He’s all yours.”

Coran raises a brow as he glances between Pidge’s retreating figure and Lance’s downcast expression. “What happened?”

“Nothing,” Lance murmurs, immediately heading for his room.

“Now, I happen to be an expert on nothing.” Coran slings an arm over Lance’s shoulders. “Maybe I can offer you some advice.”

Lance sighs. “I kissed Hunk.”

“Oh!” Coran straightens. “I didn’t know you were interested in him.”

“Me neither.”

“Ah…” Coran smiles. “Well, what did he do after you kissed?”

“He ran away.” Lance droops forward.

“I see.” Coran pats him on the back. “In that case, I have just the thing.” He leads Lance towards the medical bay.

Lance groans. “Not the healing pods again…”

“What? They need cleaning!” Coran nudges his side as he whispers. “And it’s a good place to plan without anyone overhearing us.”

“Fine, but only because my night is already miserable, and this couldn’t possibly make it any worse.”

Coran ignores him. “What you need to do is find a way to get Hunk interested in you. Then your problem’s solved!”

“He already knows me, though, and he isn’t interested.”

“Don’t you worry about that.” Coran winks, and Lance experiences a brief moment of regret. The only thing keeping him from changing his mind is the memory of Hunk holding him and the desire to experience it again. “I have lots of ideas.”

 

Lance begins his morning early the next day and heads straight to the kitchen while he reviews the plan he’d created with Coran’s help last night. He grabs a bowl of food goo, mostly for show, and waits. The second Hunk steps through the door, operation: seduce Hunk begins.

Luckily, Hunk arrives only a few ticks later.

“Hey, man!” Lance greets him with a grin. “What a night, huh?”

Hunk visibly tenses at the sound of Lance’s voice, but he waves all the same. “Hey, Lance. Yeah, that was, uh…” He walks over to the goo dispenser. “You’re up early.”

“I thought I’d get some training in. Wanna join me?”

Hunk shakes his head. “I’ve got some recipes to work on. Sorry.”

“That’s okay. Maybe after?” Lance smiles and jumps to his feet. “I could help you out.”

“No, I’m okay. But thanks for-”

“Or we could just skip the baking and make something even sweeter instead.”

Hunk freezes and slowly turns back to look at him. “Are you practicing pickup lines again?”

“Maybe.” Lance winks. “What did you think?”

Hunk reaches over for a bowl and serves up some goo. “It’s a little strong.”

“You’re a little strong.”

Hunk nearly overfills his bowl in one movement, and he quickly scoops up a rag to dab at the little bit of goo that spilled over. “Maybe you should ask someone else for help with that. I’ve got some work to do on my lion.” The words come out almost too fast for Lance to understand as Hunk scoops up his bowl and a spoon and rushes out of the room.

Lance makes a face. “Well, that didn’t work.”

 

The second phase is a little less subtle. During training, Allura asks them to team up for some one-on-one close combat drills, which Coran had suggested during breakfast.

“Oh, I’ll work with Hunk!” Lance volunteers with a bright smile.

“Good,” Allura nods. “You two can go over there.”

Hunk follows Lance to the far side of the room as Keith and Pidge pair off, followed by Shiro and Coran.

“Ready to take me down?” Lance asks, tossing Hunk a fake sword.

Hunk catches it, frowning. “Sure.” He won’t look at Lance, and Lance swears he almost looks uncomfortable.

“Hey, you know, I’m sorry about last night. I didn’t mean to be weird or anything.” Lance knows this isn’t part of the plan, but after scaring Hunk off this morning, he can’t bear to make things worse between them.

Hunk relaxes somewhat as he stretches. “It wasn’t weird.”

“It was a little weird,” Lance insists as he stretches beside him. “I mean, we definitely made out.”

Hunk blushes and looks away. “Well, I mean… It was… Don’t worry about it.”

“Yeah?” Lance nudges his side. “So, we’re good?”

“Yeah, man.” Hunk chuckles. “We’re fine.”

“Great, cause I’m ready to fight.”

Hunk finally cracks a smile, and Lance can feel his heart melting at the sight. It’s a wonder he never realized until now just how amazing Hunk looks when he’s smiling. “Okay. Let’s do this.”

They move into a comfortable stance, facing each other, swords at the ready. Allura glances their way and watches as Lance makes the first move. Hunk has a rock-solid defense as always, but Lance has speed on his side. After several successfully deflected attacks, Lance manages to catch Hunk off guard with a quick tap to his side.

“I win!” Lance cheers.

Hunk laughs beside him. “Great job! You’re getting faster!”

Coran catches Lance’s eye from across the room and waggles his eyebrows. Lance looks away and hopes no one else caught the obvious signal. For a moment, he reconsiders the entire plan. Part of him is ready to give up and just pine in peace. After all, being around Hunk is enough. Isn’t it?

Except after last night, Lance is finally paying attention to all the things he’s missed during their years of friendship: the way Hunk’s muscles ripple across his back as he stretches, the calloused fingers Lance remembers tangling in his hair, even the soft lips Lance swears he can still feel when he closes his eyes…

Lance moves into position for a second round, his mind made up. “Ready to try again?”

Being friends with Hunk isn’t enough. Not now. Not after he’s gotten a taste.

“Okay.” Hunk settles back into a defensive stance.

“No, you attack me this time,” Lance says with an easy smile. “Let’s mix it up.”

Hunk pauses, then nods. “Good idea.” He waits until Lance is ready, then he moves forward, attacking with more force but less speed than Lance had used earlier. Lance darts out of the way and pivots to catch Hunk’s next move with his sword.

“Too slow,” Lance teases as he moves in closer, shooting Hunk a wink. Hunk shakes his head and steps back, swinging faster in the hopes of managing a blow before Lance has the chance to block. Lance shifts out of the way and slides his sword down the length of Hunk’s outstretched blade, brushing elbows with him as Lance slips behind him, goading him on.

“You need to actually block,” Hunk grumbles as he turns to face Lance again. “You're just moving out of the way.”

“Just keeping you on your toes!” Lance grins.

Hunk surges forward, his sword tapping against Lance’s shoulder. “Got you, La-” His momentum carries him too far, knocking both of them backward, and Hunk lands sprawled over Lance’s middle. Honestly, this was almost better than Lance had planned.

Lance laughs. “Wow, is this payback for me ending up on your lap last night?”

Hunk scoots back, a bright red flush coloring his cheeks. “No, that was just an accident.”

“Sure, it was.” Lance shoots him a smirk. “I mean, not that I-”

“No, it really was!” This time, Lance can tell something is wrong, and he wonders if he might have pushed too far.

“I know it was!” Lance holds up his hands. “I was just joking.”

“Sorry, man.” Hunk sits up and rubs the back of his head. “Um, maybe we should switch partners or something.”

“What?” Lance sits up, voice rising in concern. “We don’t-”

“Hunk, Lance, is something wrong?” Allura calls from her position near the middle of the room.

“Nope, we’re fine!” Lance answers before Hunk can speak up. “Totally fine.”

Despite his best efforts, moments later, he and Shiro are sparring while Lance begins to wonder if he really has ruined everything between them.

 

The idea of losing Hunk’s friendship eats at Lance through lunch, sending a fresh jolt of hurt every time Hunk avoids him throughout the afternoon. It isn’t until after an unnervingly quiet dinner that Lance decides he needs to end this plan and try to salvage what he can.

After searching all of Hunk’s usual spots, Lance settles for the one place he knows Hunk has to go eventually.

Hunk’s room.

Lance eventually sits down beside the door, waiting for Hunk and ignoring the strange look Keith sends him when he walks by. After rehearsing what he needs to say under his breath for what feels like hours, Lance is nearly ready to doze off when he finally hears footsteps.

“Lance?”

Lance scrambles to his feet and rushes to Hunk’s side before he has a chance to turn around and leave. “Can we talk?”

Hunk takes a step back. “I’ve got-”

“I’m really sorry.” Lance gently grabs Hunk’s shoulder before he can leave. “I made things weird. I just really, really liked kissing you and I’m pretty sure I like you. I think I’ve liked you for a while now and I didn’t realize it until I was…” Lance’s voice trails off for a moment, the memory of Hunk’s lips on his bringing a fresh blush to his cheeks. “Look, I know I messed up, and Coran’s flirting advice probably made it worse, but I promise I’ll stop. Please just stop avoiding me.”

“Wait…” Hunk stares at him. “What? You...like me?”

Lance nods, worrying at his lower lip as he waits for an answer.

“So, the flirting was on purpose? You were…”

“Trying to get you to like me back,” Lance finishes for him, his heart sinking.

“Oh.” Hunk lets out a soft breath. “I thought…”

“I get it. You’re not interested. It’s fine. I-”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Hunk shakes his head. “I never said that. I just thought I made it weird cause I was into you and really, really into that kiss.”

“Wait.” Lance moves closer. “You like me, too?”

“Yeah, man.” Hunk smiles. “What’s not to like? You’re amazing.”

“And the kiss?”

Hunk blushes and nods. “That, too.”

Lance grins, stepping forward. “So, if I wanted to kiss you again?”

“I’d be into that,” Hunk murmurs, looking down at Lance with wide eyes.

Lance leans in, slipping his arms around the back of Hunk’s neck. “Okay.” This time, he pays attention to the way Hunk grips his sides while he moves closer. This time, he’s watching the color rising in Hunk’s cheeks and the way his breathing picks up. This time, when they kiss, Lance notices the way his stomach fills with heat and the world around him disappears. This time, he doesn’t deny the thrill of joy when Hunk pulls him closer as he falls back against the closed door, reaching blindly for the scanner to let them in. This time, Lance is the one who eagerly presses in while they stumble forward together, one hand tangling in Hunk’s hair while he uses the other to lock the door behind them and ensure their privacy.

This time, Lance doesn’t question the instinctive desire to part his lips and taste the citrusy lip balm Lance finally convinced Hunk to try a month ago. Instead, he settles his free hand on Hunk’s jaw, positioning them more comfortably so Lance doesn’t have to reach quite so far to continue kissing him. Without an audience, they can enjoy this at their own pace, each of them savoring the growing heat between them instead of burning through it in seconds.

Lance gasps when Hunk’s hands slip down and cup the backs of his thighs, lifting him up and carrying him to the bed for Hunk to sit and settle Lance on his lap. Lance isn’t sure whether it’s more impressive that Hunk managed to carry him so effortlessly or that he managed to do so while somehow keeping contact with Lance’s lips the entire time. Either way, he’s pretty sure that one move is infinitely more impressive than any steps to the plan he and Coran came up with.

“Quiznak…” Lance breathes into Hunk’s lips, his heart pounding in his ears.

Hunk chuckles, leaning back to look at him. “Hope that was okay.”

Lance grins, his voice lower than normal when he answers. “Definitely.” He positions himself more comfortably and rests his hands on Hunk’s shoulders. “Guess you liked having me on your lap after all.”

Hunk blushes again, and the sight is somehow more endearing than Lance is prepared for. “Well, that and we’re kind of the same height this way.”

“I just think it’s hot you can carry me around like that.” Lance shifts forward to kiss a line down Hunk’s jaw. “I meant it when I said you’re strong.”

Hunk swallows, his grip on Lance’s hips tightening. “You meant that?”

Lance nods and leans back to look up at Hunk. “Yeah, man.” He smirks. “You know, I meant what I said about making something sweeter, too, you know.”

Hunk makes a face. “Yeah, that just sounds like a bad pickup line.”

“Hmmm…” Lance shrugs. “Give me a minute, and maybe I’ll change your mind.” Then, he bends down for another kiss, sure he’ll coax a different answer out of Hunk by the end of the night. He doesn’t, but Hunk enjoys every second he spends trying, and the two of them enjoy waking up next to each other the next morning even more.

**Author's Note:**

> Also posted on tumblr under the same name!


End file.
